GEARING UP

Tools of the Trade

There are a few different ways to catch lobsters (1) with a net and tickle stick, (2) with a bully net, and (3) with a snare. I've never known anyone who used a snare although I have read they are effective. Our one attempt at bully netting resulted in seeing a total of one lobster and spending most of the time trying to catch needle fish by hand. Therefore, this post will focus on what you will need to catch lobsters by hand the old fashioned way. Maybe someday an expert in another technique can send me a guest article about the other catching methods. 

There are four essential items that you will need when hunting lobster: (1) a net, (2) tickle stick, (3) gloves, and (4) lobster gauge. Bonus item number (5) a catch bag, is needed if you are diving on a tank.

Net: Your net is what you will use to actually trap the lobster. During the catch the net is positioned and the lobster is coaxed into it. Nets are pretty standard, just keep in mind that the bigger and bulkier the harder it will be to swim with. The main thing about your net is to make sure that you check it to make sure there are no holes in it because I guarantee those bugs will find them.

Tickle Stick: The tickle stick is your main weapon in the fight against the spiny lobsters. It is the tool you will use to help guide the lobster out from its hole or rock and into your net. There are a few different varieties of tickle sticks, when shopping around just keep in mind that you will most likely lose it, especially if you are a newbie. Once you are a professional lobster hunter I would suggest buying whatever tickle stick you want, but until then go with a cheap one. I prefer the metal versions with a slight bend on one end, as opposed to plastic ones or straight ones. I think metal ones feel better in the water and are a little more durable when digging under rocks. The bend is useful to get behind the lobster and force them out of their hole.

Gloves: Gloves are a necessity because those bugs are prickly. They have spikes and horns all over and in the water they are powerful bastards. When they start thrashing around while you are trying to get it from your net to your catch bag you will be damn glad you wore those gloves. You don't need any high tech gloves, the basic bright orange ones that come in almost every lobster hunting package are all our group ever use. In my opinion there is no sense in ruining or risking losing expensive diving gloves when cheap ones get the job done, but then again maybe I'm just a cheapskate.

Lobster Gauge: Your lobster gauge is required by law rather than as an essential tool to actual catch the lobster. The most convenient way to carry your gauge with you is to attach it to your tickle stick with a key ring, which is normally how you will buy them. The lobsters have to be measured before you take them out of the water so always measure your lobster while you have it trapped in your net to make sure it is a keeper. Plastic gauges are best, believe it or not they are actually more durable then metal ones. If you metal one bends at all it will become inaccurate and you could end up accidentally keeping an illegal lobster, and trust me the FWC isn't going to care what your excuse is. Plastic gauges are also brightly colored and can be very handy in helping you locate your tickle stick if you happen to drop it while battling with a slippery bug.

Catch Bag: If you are free-diving you will not need a catch bag, unless perhaps you are diving away from your boat (probably not the best idea) or are swimming off shore without a boat. If you are diving on a tank however, then you will most certainly want a catch bag. These are bags designed to hold numerous lobsters, so that you can continue catching them without having to return to the boat each time you net one of those suckers. The two main types are bags with one-way doors and bags with locking latches. If you are diving without a bag-man then you will 100% want a one-way bag. Otherwise there is too great of a risk of losing lobsters every time you have to open the bag to put a new one in. If you have a bag man either type of bag will work, its really a preference of the team. With a one-way bag just be sure that it is zipped up before you start shoving those lobsters in there.

LOBSTER LINGO

Keeper [kee-per]
- noun

1. A lobster that is large enough to take home and turn into dinner without risking the FWC sending you to the clinker. In Florida a keeper is a lobster with a minimum 3" carapace.

2. A girl hot enough, and only mildly annoying enough, to actually consider making your wife.

Synonyms: Legal Lobster, Dream Girl.

Example: Your goal this year is catch at least one keeper, so that you don't embarrass yourself again.

TRAINING FOR THE TRIP

Daily Training Regimen

by Justin Mirgeaux

MORNING ROUTINE

24 oz beer

200 M swim

AFTERNOON ROUTINE

12 oz beer

300 M swim

Shit in ocean

NIGHTTIME ROUTINE

12 oz beer

Man-overboard drill (>5 min)

BEDTIME ROUTINE

100 M swim

Rest...(Eat banana bread)

4 MONTHS TO GO

I only see two keepers in this picture.

CATCHING TECHNIQUE

Out in the Open

Free diving or on a tank the basics of how to catch the lobster are fairly similar. For now we will just talk about the basics, an open water uncovered lobster Catch. Like most people our preferred method is with a net and a tickle stick. No, we aren't talking about your mom's tickle stick but something that looks more like this:

It should be noted that while you will occasionally come across one just walking on the ground, more than likely you will only find an uncovered lobster at night when they walk, or near a bunch of miniseason newbies that are scattering lobster all over the place in their attempt to catch dinner. It is also important to understand that lobsters swim backwards and are extremely quick:

Once you have found your bug just follow these steps:

1. Approach the lobster carefully as it is already probably spooked from its prior encounter. If you accidentally touch it before you are ready it will take off, never to be seen again.
2. Armed with your Net and stick place the net behind the lobsters tail.
3. Slowly created as small as an angle as possible between all areas of the net and the ground (slowly lowering it over the lobster).
4. Quickly push the entire net against the ground and at the same time slide your tickle stick from the handle of your net to the back, effectively forcing the lobster into the back of the net.
5. While you still have the tickle stick pressing against the ground keeping the lobster pinned in the back of the net release the nets handle and grab the lobster with your hand (while it is still in the net)
6. Surface and catch your breath.

This technique will work regardless if you are on a tank or free diving. Always keep in mind that lobsters are extremely sneaky and quick under water and can pretty much get out of anything.

There aer a few mistakes people make all the time while catching bugs. Swimming to the surface just holding the nets handle is one of them. Another huge mistake is grabbing the lobster by the antennae. They will break almost immediately and the lobster will get away, and NO lobster do NOT regenerate their antennae. Finally, make sure you have no holes in your net. It sounds simple, but a lobster will almost always find the smallest hole and escape.

Follow those 6 simple steps and you should have flawless lobster catching execution.

LOBSTER LINGO

Knifewrench [nahyf - rench]

- noun

1. Half knife, half wrench, entirely awesome. The most important tool that a lobsterman can possibly own. Don’t be caught hunting bugs without one.

Synonyms: Its a knifewrench people, it doesn't need any other name, it's like Cher or Madonna.

Example: Tickle stick? Check. Lobster net? Check. Knifewrench? Check. Let’s kill us some bugs.

AFTER THE CATCH

Measuring the Lobster

Undoubtedly the most important part of mini season is actually catching some lobsters. However, there is another very important part that should not be overlooked, and that is making sure those bugs are legal size. While you may think measuring and counting your lobsters is a good way to make rookies carry their weight (and it is), keeping an illegal lobster can mean big fines and even having your boat confiscated. So you captains better make sure those swabbies do it right!

Florida law requires that you measure your lobster in the water. Despite this regulation it is good practice to double check the measurement once the bug is on-board. Not only is it easy to make an error when measuring in the water but using two different gauges is important since they are prone to being bent, warped, or cut incorrectly.

A legal Spiny Lobster caught in Florida must have a 3" carapace.

To measure a Spiny Lobster, begin by placing the gauge in-between the lobster's horns so that it hooks onto the front of its carapace. Stretch the gauge flat across the lobster's back in an attempt to touch the lobster's tail. The gauge should not fall over the back of the carapace. If it does the lobster is an illegal size and must be thrown back. If it doesn't, toss that bug in the cooler and cancel your dinner reservations at Little Italy.

ROOKIE MISTAKE ALERT: Make sure that the gauge is hooked onto the hard, solid carapace between the horns and not the soft connective tissue between the eyes. Although the difference can be so minuscule as to seem trivial that 0.1 inch could mean the difference between the FWC sending you home with 6 bugs or sending you home without a boat.